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India’s Predicted Playing XI for 1st T20I vs Australia at Brisbane

Dixit Bhargav
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India's Predicted Playing XI for 1st T20I vs Australia

India’s Predicted Playing XI for 1st T20I vs Australia: Sportsrush presents before you India’s playing XI for the first T20I vs Australia.

It is that time of the year when the one of the most-awaited bilateral series of the year is about to commence. India’s tour of Australia will see two powerhouses of cricket fight against each other in a full tour comprising of three T20Is, four Tests and three ODIs.

With almost the same squad (which played against Windies at home) touring Australia, India would have hoped of a settled playing XI. Having said that, with the return of regular captain Virat Kohli, a few changes are bound to happen.

The Indian selectors have selected a 16-member squad for a three-match T20I series. Despite that, the final playing XI will have to compromise on one facet or the other, courtesy to the team selection.

The first of the three T20Is will be played on November 21 at Brisbane.

India’s Predicted Playing XI for the first T20I vs Australia

1. Top-order – A full strength Indian team will see Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma face the new ball against Australia at Brisbane. Apparently, it was the same pair which opened for India in the T20I series during India’s tour of Australia in 2016.

Having stitched opening partnerships of 40 (25), 97 (66) and 46 (20) in three T20Is, both Dhawan and Sharma were among the runs in 2016. The Indian team would be hoping for them to replicate such a performance to set the tone of the tour upfront.

The last time when Virat Kohli played a T20I for India was during India’s tour of England in July. In the three-match series in England, Kohli batted at No. 4 in a bid to push Lokesh Rahul at No. 3.

There are high chances of the same being repeated down under for Rahul had scored his second T20I century at Manchester. Notwithstanding the fact that he missed out in the next two ODIs, an innings such as the one at Manchester will give India the required impact in Australia.

2. Middle-order – Captain Kohli batting at No. 4 will provide immense strength to India’s middle-order. In the nine T20I innings that he has played for India at No. 4, he has scored 261 runs at an average of 37.28 and a strike rate of 134.53. While these might not be his best numbers, it will go down as a decision taken in the best interests of the team.

The wicket-keeper duo of Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik are likely to bat at No. 5 and 6 respectively. While Pant will be given the responsibility of pressing the accelerator from the word go, Karthik is more likely to play as a finisher who, if need arises, will have to bat with the tail-enders as well as Bhuvneshwar Kumar is all in likeliness of batting at No. 7 due to the above mentioned ‘compromise’.

3. Bowlers – With no one out of India’s Top six capable of bowling, India have no option but to play five specialist bowlers. Apart from Kumar, who will play the all-rounder sorts-of-role, India are highly likely to field their top bowling attack in Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

India’s Predicted Playing XI for first T20I against Australia: 1) Shikhar Dhawan 2) Rohit Sharma 3) Lokesh Rahul 4) Virat Kohli (c) 5) Rishabh Pant 6) Dinesh Karthik 7) Bhuvneshwar Kumar 8) Kuldeep Yadav 9) Yuzvendra Chahal 10) Jasprit Bumrah 11) Khaleel Ahmed

Read some of the latest Twitter reactions about India’s tour of Australia below:

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Dixit Bhargav

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Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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